Tuesday, July 01, 2014

I love
everything about this event: the anticipation, the hope, the wingspan
discussion, the awkward tension in the green room...and THE CLOTHES! Lots of
upside potential in the building tonight.

For the
first time in 30 years, first-round draftees will be strolling across the stage
to shake Commissioner Adam Silver's hand. (The draft was first televised in
1980, David Stern was named NBA Commissioner in 1984.) Will the Barclays Center
fans boo him like they did to Stern?

Prospective
#1 pick Joel Embiid (Center, Kansas) threw GMs a curve ball this week, by
heading into surgery to repair a broken right foot. So we're all waiting to see what the
Cleveland Cavs do with the top pick. Roll the dice with Embiid? Switch to Embiid's
college teammate Andrew Wiggins (Guard, Kansas)? Or maybe take Jabari Parker (Forward, Duke)
even though he allegedly tanked his tryout and doesn't seem to want to play in
Cleveland? Owner Dan Gilbert tried to squash the rumors on Wednesday that they are arguing internally
about which player to pick, but no one really knows what they will do.

7:00pm

It is T-minus
30 minutes before the show starts--are you ready??

(For those
of you who enjoy the "wingspan" drinking game...Bilas is ready!)

Mostly cheers and a smattering of boos for
Silver as he kicks off the draft. (They like him! Or at least they like him
better than Stern, who relished the role of the villain on draft night.)
Definitely boos as Silver acknowledges the Championship Spurs.

Silver's brief speech at the open is a nice
touch. He's helping to craft the narrative for the evening by naming
"hidden gems" from past drafts. Like Kawhi Leonard: a bargain at #15
(drafted in 2011 by the Spurs...they do an amazing job with player development:
Robinson, Duncan, Ginobili Leonard). MVP, MVP!

7:33pm

Cavs on the clock--this is the third time
they've had the #1 pick in the last 4 years

7:36pm

Jalen calls back to his infamous 1994 red draft
day suit with the bright red tie and lapel rose tonight in the ESPN analyst
chair.

7:39pm

Already running late on
the first pick---is there a trade brewing, or did Adam Silver's watch stop
working?

7:40pm

Cavs take
Wiggins--another #1 Canadian! (Anthony Bennett, also picked #1 by the Cavs in
2013 hails from Toronto).

Plus, more prime airtime
for THAT SUIT!!!

7:41pm

Wiggins should feel at
home--they have Canadian-like weather in Cleveland

Dr. Naismith is smiling
in heaven (He's a Canadian too...)

7:43pm

I love that we've
progressed to "Who are you wearing?" at the NBA Draft

#fashionforward

UPDATE: Fun fact from Elias
Sports Bureau:

Before this year, only three players who
were taken first or second overall in the NBA Draft had fathers who played in
the league: Danny Manning (1st in 1988), Danny Ferry (2nd in 1989) and Mike
Bibby (2nd in 1998).

Sidebar on the fun
fact: The Dannys were both drafted by the LA Clippers.

Danny Manning was
drafted after winning the 1988 NCAA Championship with Kansas (defeating Ferry's
Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four.) He played six seasons with the Clippers
and 16 total in the NBA. Manning is now the head coach of Wake Forest, the
college of current Clips All-Star PG Chris Paul.

Danny Ferry spurned the
Clippers after they drafted him at #2 and spent his first pro season playing
for Il Messaggero in Rome, Italy. He never suited up for the Clips, but there's
still a photo in the NBA archives with him in the Clips hat, and a very
disappointed look on his face. Ferry is now GM of the Atlanta Hawks, and is
making decisions about the #15 and #43 picks tonight.

7:46pm

New Milwaukee Bucks
owners Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens got the guy they wanted at #2: Jabari
Parker. This is Duke's 8th top three draft pick since 1985.

The post-surgery
pain-killers seem to be working on Embiid...he could not be more nonplussed
about being selected #3 by the Philadelphia 76ers as he sits in his recovery
room (H/T to SB Nation for the excellent Vine).

Aaron Gordon (PF from
Arizona) to the Orlando Magic at #4--that's a surprise.

They were making
maneuvers earlier today....this might not stick.

But, if Orlando does
keep him, they likely won't be disappointed--this kid had more than 300
rebounds as a freshman!

8:01pm

WE HAVE OUR FIRST "WINGSPAN"
MENTION FROM BILAS!!

Followed by an
"upside potential" by Jalen....it took these guys 30 minutes to
settle in.

Drink up, fans.

8:05pm

The Utah Jazz take
Australian prep school guard Dante Exum to round out the top five. We now have another Aussie in the Western
Conference to join the Spurs Patty Mills. He may be an ex-pat, but he's no stranger
to the NBA. Exum's dad played college basketball at North Carolina in the 80s
with Michael Jordan, then in the NBA and finally as a pro in Australia, where
the Exum family settled.

Also of note--Exum's
pre-draft Foot Locker commercials are really clever. Crafty work by the NBA and
his agent to get pre-draft marketing deals going before the guy even has a
contract.

Jabari Parker, very
emotional about going to MIL. “I’m trying to be a throwback player & stick
with one team.” ‪#NBAdraft

8:11pm

Marcus Smart flashes
his bespoke jacket lining with a flourish to celebrate being picked #6 by the Boston
Celtics. The Sporting News got the
backstory about the special design, which calls back to his hometown and high
school:

The Magic will take
Dario Saric at 12, but are likely to trade him to the Sixers for the rights to
Elfrid Payton, per league source.

8:51pm

Dario Saric, from
Croatia, is technically drafted by the Magic at #12, but will not even be able
to enjoy it, since he's heading to the Sixers. Will be interesting to see if
Saric stays in Croatia until the SIxers improve. He currently has a three-year
deal in the EuroLeague.

Between Embiid who's
laid up in recovery for months and Saric who's under contract in another league...are
Philly fans patient enough for a long-term rebuild?

UPDATE: Based on this
post-presser photo, Saric looks excited to play in Philly--hopefully this will
make the Sixers fans keep hope alive for the future...

Fun fact about Croatia
basketball: Former Duke and Trailblazers guard Nolan Smith played against Saric
on Cibona Zagreb in Croatia last season. Smith is playing on the OKC Thunder
summer league team in Orlando. Summer League play starts on July 5th.

Here is the trade:
Orlando sends rights to Dario Saric and will return Sixers pick in '15 and a
2nd in '15 for rights for Elfrid Payton.

These draft night
trades always make great trivia questions. Like in the 1993 draft--Chris Webber
was drafted #1 by the Orlando Magic, and then was traded shortly thereafter to
the Golden State Warriors. Most people believe that he was drafted by the
Warriors, but he only walked away from that deal with a hat.

9:15pm

Zach LaVine, a PG from
UCLA, is selected by the Timberwolves at #13. The drawback to having all of
these cameras in your face to catch your reaction is they catch any disappointing
looks you give (see: Danny Ferry, 1989 draft) and expletives you blurt out. The
Twitter-verse seems convinced that this statement ended in "me" even
if SB Nation isn't:

Despite Zach LaVine's
seeming unhappiness at being drafted by Minnesota, the Wolves will keep him,
per league source.

9:25pm

For the final lottery
pick the Phoenix Suns take NC State forward TJ Warren at the 14th spot. Warren
was ACC Player of the Year last season, averaging 24.9 points and 7.1 rebounds
per game. This isn't a complete surprise, as Yahoo! reported earlier today that Warren sat in the green room
tonight because the Suns promised they would pick him.

9:35pm

We're ending this NBA LiveBlog
on a high note and the feel-good moment of the night.

Last week, Baylor
center Isaiah Austin was diagnosed with Marfan
syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective
tissue, and had to withdraw from the draft. Some abnormalities were discovered
during his physical at pre-draft camp in Chicago last month, which led to further
tests and the decision to end his playing career. He was expected to be a late
first round pick.

Austin was in the
Barclays Center tonight, and following the 15th pick (Adreian Payne, a PF from
Michigan State to the Atlanta Hawks), Adam Silver announced that the NBA drafts
Austin.

He walked to the stage,
accepted an NBA-logo hat and a hug from Commissioner Silver while the crowd at
Barclays gave him a standing ovation. It was a dream come true for Austin, and
an emotional moment for everyone watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAmHBWVVQo

Houston Rockets beat
writer Jenny Dial Creech reports that Austin has jobs waiting for him at Baylor
and the NBA once he graduates:

The Australian kid who beat Nadal today appears to be an extra from Jersey Shore--goofy haircut, rope chain with multiple pendants, diamond stud earring. He also appears to have zero muscle tone and a preposterously smooth and confident game.

Heartbreaking loss today, but we were outclassed and lucky to be able to extend the game into extra time. We may have seen the end of Dempsey, Howard, Beasley and Bradley in the World Cup. Let's hope Bedoya, Green and Yedlin can be tomorrow's leaders.

At this point, I'm rooting for a "Big Four" semis of Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Holland. Hard to see how that would be dull.

I was prepared to have disdain for Louisa Thomas's Grantland article on Nadal's loss but it's spot on. If you're too disinterested to read it or click the links therein, you should check this out a minimum.